Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism

The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (LVF) was a Vichy French collaborationist militia that was active from 8 July 1941 to 1 September 1944. The LVF was formed by right-wing Frenchmen, French Army POWs who preferred fighting against communism to performing forced labor, and White Russians who had served in the French Foreign Legion. The LVF grew to have a strength of 5,800 troops, and the LVF took part in Operation Barbarossa in 1941. In 1942, the division fought against Belarusian partisans, and it fought against Ukrainian partisans in 1944. A new recruiting drive in Vichy France was launched in 1944, recruiting 3,000 applicants from the collaborationist militia and from university students. In September 1944, the LVF disbanded, and it was replaced by the 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French).